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Great outdoors inspires Whistler firm’s energy efficient homes

Inspiration can come from many sources. For Edgar Dearden and his staff of developers and building design professionals at Global Network Architecture Resource Inc. (GNAR Inc.
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Inspiration can come from many sources.

For Edgar Dearden and his staff of developers and building design professionals at Global Network Architecture Resource Inc. (GNAR Inc.), inspiration comes from a quick glance out of their Whistler office windows.

What they see is a wondrous natural playground enjoyed by many, including GNAR’s clients, who have invested in the community, and put down roots where outdoor adventure is right at their doorstep.

And helping preserve that environment by constructing energy efficient and sustainable homes is GNAR’s goal.

“We’re a sustainable building design company and our task is to interpret that every day,” said Dearden. “And there is a lot involved with creating a sustainable building. It’s not just building an ‘eco-home,’ a healthy home, or an energy-efficient home.

“It’s all of the above, and more.”

All of GNAR’s staff members are trained in Passive House (Passivhaus) Design - houses that use 90% less energy for heating and cooling.

“That experience and commitment gives us an edge in designing high-performance, high-efficiency and low-energy homes,” Dearden explains.

“It’s phenomenal just how much energy buildings can consume, and how much of it goes to heating the outside through efficiency losses,” Dearden says, adding even new builds today can benefit greatly from more attention to efficiency.

“Not only can we save the homeowner tens of thousands of dollars in energy costs over the lifetime of their building by what we do,” he says. “We can save hundreds of thousands of dollars by identifying and implementing various cost savings during the design process”

While that does require additional upfront costs to provide items such as higher than code insulation, the trade-offs in lower energy consumption, and cheaper, more economical design, helps pay for that.

“When you spend more money to make the kinds of upgrades we design and build, you are not only saving in overall energy consumption each month, you are also saving in terms of what type of equipment you need to cool or heat your home,” he explains.

While new builds are a large part of what GNAR does, retro-fitting older homes to become more energy efficient is an increasingly satisfying part of what the company accomplishes for its clients.

“We can take an old, energy hog of a house where the energy bills could top $1,000 a month for seven months out of the year, and by cutting the bill by up to 90%, the renovation can be paid for quickly by just the energy savings.”

To see how much GNAR can save on your energy consumption, whether you are renovating or building new, visit online at www.gnarinc.com.